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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

CSS Stonewall

Awards, Citations and Campaign RibbonsCivil War Medal

Ironclad Ram:

Built by L. Arman at Bordeaux, France, in 1863-64 for the Confederate States Government; however

French Government refused to permit her delivery

Sold to Denmark, via a Swedish intermediary, for use in the Schleswig-Holstein War, named Sphinx

Sphinx failed to reach Copenhagen before end of the Schleswig-Holstein War and was returned to her builders

Resold to the Confederate States Government in December 1864

Renamed Stonewall, CAPT. Thomas J. Page CSN, in command

CSS Stonewall departed Copenhagen to load supplies in France, to through off suspicion of her actual ownership she was renamed Staerkodder and Oline

Unable to replenish fully in French waters Stonewall sailed for Madeira but put into Ferrol, Spain instead because of bad weather

Stonewall reached Nassau, New Providence, 6 May 1865 onward to Havana where because of wars end she was turned over to the Captain General of Cuba

Cuba delivered Stonewall to the US Government in July 1865

US Government sold Stonewall to Japan in 1867, where she was renamed Kotetsu later Azuma

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and the best-known Confederate
commander after General Robert E. Lee. His military career includes the Valley Campaign of 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia
under Robert E. Lee. Confederate pickets accidentally shot him at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. The general survived with the loss of an arm to
amputation, but died of complications from pneumonia eight days later. His death was a severe setback for the Confederacy, affecting not only its military prospects,
but also the morale of its army and of the general public. Jackson in death became an icon of Southern heroism and commitment, becoming a mainstay in the pantheon of
the "Lost Cause".
Military historians consider Jackson to be one of the most gifted tactical commanders in U.S. history. His Valley Campaign and his envelopment of the Union Army's
right wing at Chancellorsville are studied worldwide even today as examples of innovative and bold leadership. He excelled as well in other battles: the First Battle of
Bull Run (First Manassas) where he received his famous nickname "Stonewall"; the Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas); and the battles of Antietam, and
Fredericksburg. Jackson was not universally successful as a commander, however, as displayed by his late arrival and confused efforts during the Seven Days Battles
around Richmond in 1862.

Engraving of CSS Stonewall published in "Harper's Weekly", 3 February 1866 as part of a larger print entitled
"The Iron-clad Navy of the United States. See US Naval History and
Heritage Command Photo # 73968.
US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 61424.

Photo of ex-CSS Stonewall from on board another ship, probably while laid up off the Washington Navy Yard, in 1865-66.
Photo mounted on a stereograph card. Note Stonewall's stern decoration.
US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 86238. Courtesy of the Steamship Historical Society of America, 1952. Collection of Rosmar S. Devereaux.

Robert Hurst

148k

Ex CSS Stonewall at anchor, off the Washington Navy Yard, D.C., circa 1865-67, while awaiting disposal.
Photo from "The Photographic History of the Civil War in Ten Volumes", Vol Six, The Navies".

Japanese ironclad Azuma moored to a buoy in a Japanese port, circa late-1860s.U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 42257

Robert Hurst

153k

Japanese ironclad Azuma at anchor probably in a Japanese port, circa late-1860s.
Colorized version thanks to Laststandonzombieisland of U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 101772. courtesy of Tom Stribling, 1986.

Tommy Trampp

132k

Halftone reproduction of an artwork of Japanese ironclad Azuma in harbor, location unknown.U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 86930.

Robert Hurst

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Artwork (1871) depicting the Japanese ironclad Azuma in a Far East port late-1860s.U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 42258

Robert Hurst

123k

Azuma leads the Japanese Imperial Fleet line of battle at the Naval Battle of Hakodate in May 1869.Photo from the "Illustrated London News", 11 September 1869